What I Left

We hid my mana and my aura too late.

A few days after we visited the ruins, the summer star festival began. Colorful flags and banners zig-zagged between Haven's yellow-brick buildings. Temporary booths were set up in the village square for everyone to make their own unique festival candle, lantern, or torch for the nightly processions. Burning bundles of dried herbs spiced the air deliciously. Every musician in Haven rotated in and out of an informal band in the town square, playing random snatches of songs as the ever-changing group determined what songs they all knew. Impromptu dances ebbed and flowed with the mood of the crowd. We were caught up in one such dance, Alexandros with Sigrid, Asa with Eva, and Orion with me, Sirius jumping around us and barking happily. As we whirled, my heart leapt with excitement; tonight would be my first time stargazing in my new home! Up till now I had been too exhausted by the new things each day had brought, so almost every night I had gone straight home with Eva just before dark. The only exceptions were the night of my arrival, the night of my coronation, and the evening we retrieved my mana from my crater and stayed to watch the sunset.

Something about those three nights bothered me. I shoved down the sense that something was wrong; such feelings had no place in a festival.

Before I could refocus on the thrill of the dance, Sirius stopped leaping around us. He growled towards the street that led to the town gate. Orion, unthinkingly keeping hold of me, spun us around to look.

Half a dozen spirits were walking towards the square.

These were no starving phoenix spirits. Tall, muscular, and dragonlike in one way or another, they radiated strength. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Asa mutter something, stare hard at the spirits, and flinch in shock. I guessed they must have strong auras too. And yet their eyes held a hungry look that made me look towards Sigrid for reassurance that we were safe.

I didn't like the careful blankness of her face. Beside her, Alexandros bent down and smiled reassuringly at some nearby kids, whispering something and gesturing for them to leave. As they scampered off, his smile faded to a look that mirrored Sigrid's.

Captain Prichard stepped out of the crowd to meet the spirits as they approached. His voice boomed cheerfully across the otherwise now-silent square.

"Good day to you, travelers! You've come at a good time, the summer star festival has just begun! I bet you've come a long way, and traveling is thirsty business. Come, let me get you all drinks from the tavern."

He waved the group towards the tavern, and they readily followed. One of the spirits, with a snake tongue that flicked in and out as he spoke, replied.

"We are grateful for your hospitality, kind sir. I'll admit, we aren't used to warm welcomes. I take it you have had dealings with spirits before?"

They entered the tavern before I could hear the Captain's reply. Stroking his beard and muttering, Master Finnigan left his booth of powders for making colored flames and quickly followed them inside. The crowd erupted into muttered conversations. Everyone kept glancing at me, and though I knew their wariness was more towards the strangers than anything, their looks made me feel like a stranger too. Despite the crowd between us, Eva noticed. Her voice rang out above the whispers.

"Come on folks, we're here to party, not gossip. We can ask our guests questions later. For now, let's dance!"

In response, the band struck up again, and she and Asa started a new dance. There were scattered cheers and clapping, and the crowd joined in. Orion hadn't let go of me the entire time, and instinctively I followed as he stepped to the rhythm. I met his eyes. He looked as nervous as I felt. Nevertheless, he smiled.

                                                  ~~~~~~~<><><>*<><><>~~~~~~~

Everyone joined in the procession as the sun started to set. Candles, lanterns, and torches of every design flared to life around us. The mayor, a scholarly looking man with a soft voice I hadn't met before, led the procession with a delicate brass lantern. I saw Master Finnigan, Asa, and Eva handing out candles with colored flames to the dragon spirits. A ways off from them, Captain Prichard was quietly conversing with Alexandros and Sigrid. Orion and I joined the procession, he with a torch designed to look like a flaming arrow, and I with a candle shaped like a flower in a glass lantern. We both went to stroke Sirius at the same time, bumping hands. To my surprise, Orion took my hand in his and held it as we walked along. Neither of us said a word.

The procession looped around town, ending in the square. The buildings in Haven were all one story tall with short attics, and the square was large, so there was a good view of the sky. A half-moon shone above us. The mayor called out, "Alright everyone, lights out!"

We all blew out our lights and waited for our eyes to adjust to the dark. My arms glimmered faintly in the dark, but not enough to ruin anyone's night vision; Asa said that my ability to condense my mana was impressive. There were a few excited whispers as we waited.

A shooting star flashed across the sky. There were a few whoops from the crowd, then more cheers as another appeared, and another, and another. I felt my mana flare slightly in response. A meteor shower! I had never seen one myself. But the feeling of wrongness from earlier tainted my joy. Then it hit me.

There were no stars.

The moon was there, the meteors arced across the sky, but there were no stars.

Now I knew why the few nights I had been out after dark felt wrong. The night of my arrival was cloudy, but the other two nights hadn't been. I was so used to living with light pollution and a sky blocked by buildings and trees that I hadn't fully realized that here, I should have seen stars.

I backed away from that starless sky, letting go of Orion's hand. Pushing through the crowd to an empty side street, I ran. A horribly familiar feeling twisted my gut, and I ran even faster, trying uselessly to outpace it. Orion called my name far behind me, but my thoughts were so loud they nearly drowned him out.

I should have known.

That was my only coherent thought, but it meant many things at once. I should have known this world was too good to be true. I should have known I couldn't have everything I wanted. I should have known that I was still an overreacting child, running from reality. I should have known my parents were right.

Ugly resentment welled up within me. Even if they were right, something about all this didn't feel right. That familiar feeling finally coalesced into words that I hadn't dared let myself think in a long, long time.

This isn't fair.

That simplistic thought stopped me in my tracks at the edge of town. All this time, all this silent turmoil, and that's what my frustrations boiled down to? I could almost hear my mother scoff in disdain, my father sighing in disappointment at my immaturity.

Orion called my name again. I turned. The moonlight faintly illuminated the street as he ran towards me, a look of concern on his face. Sirius ran ahead of him, outpacing him, so Orion was alone when the dragon spirit came out of an alleyway and struck from behind.

A shining swordblade sprouted briefly from Orion's chest, and he collapsed. It was almost insulting how quickly it happened, as if Orion's death didn't deserve more than a moment's contemplation. Sirius didn't hear the attack, only the sound of his master's body hitting the cobblestones. He turned, gave one shrill bark, and ran back. The spirit angled the bloody sword slightly as Sirius charged. That tiny movement snapped me out of my brainless shock. I sped towards them, putting myself between Sirius and the spirit. My own speed shocked me, and from the sound of Sirius skidding to a stop behind me, it must have shocked him too. 

The spirit was only a few yards away now. Orion lay between us. Both were cast in an eerie blue glow; my control of my aura had slipped. Maybe that was a good thing. Maybe Asa or Master Finnigan would come and help save Orion. My eyes flicked up from his still form on the ground to the sword that had struck him down. Then I looked at the spirit who wielded it.

He was smiling.